The ice is getting thinner
by bluebutterfly2
Summary: D/S - I just need a happy end for them..but it will take its time ;- btw I'm not a native speaker;-Thanks for the reviews:-
1. And all I do is miss you

Authors note: Guys, I'm not a native speaker, so I probably made tons of mistakes, It would be nice if one you would re- read the next chapter before i publish it;-)Anyways hope you like my story...I love Dan and Serena together and I still believe that the two of them are over;-)

Dan Humphrey was what one would describe as a normal teenage boy. He went to a private school, shared a flat with his father and his sister and he had a best friend. But there was a slight difference to every other person on this planet, he suffered from a broken heart. If you ask people, especially older ones about true love, they normally roll their eyes, fake a smile and then ramble on about that its quite impossible to say that you found your true love at the age of seventeen.

But Dan did. And he let her go.

Its scary how one relationship can break down in just one night. How people who have once been close to each other suddendly became strangers. He hadn't seen her since the night of the wedding. He tried to phone her several times- but each time he picked up the phone, he couldn't force himself to dial the number he had memorized more than any other number in his cell. It was not that he didn't want to talk to her, he just didn't know what to say to her, nor if she even wanted to speak to him. You can't hurt someone the way he did and then just phone her up for a casual talk about the weather or something. But she hadn't done any attempt to keep in touch with him either, sure she did ask his sister about him but she never actually called in to talk to him.

He put on a brave face whenever Vanessa or his dad tried to start a conversation with him, just listening with half-of his heart to them. First he couldn't fool them,but he became better in pretending to be fine and happy. He was despaired to get information about her, he missed her every second of the day and wondered if she felt the same. If she couldn't walk through New York without remembering all the place they have been together, all the conversations they had, all the little secrets their shared, all the little things in life that made them smile.

He used to check gossip once every day, everytime his heart beating faster than usual, waiting for a comment about serena.. if she had been spotted and more importantly- if she already replaced him. He was sure that the whole thing they shared with each other meant the same thing to her, then it did to him, but she was Serena van der Woodsen, the most stunning and beautiful person on this planet, and she wasn't in need to search for a new boyfriend, since she already a thousand admires.

But there was nothing about her, it was like she suddendly vanished.

The last post about her had been on the night after the wedding. It was unusually nice for gossip girl.

" I proudly announce that..no guys, this comment is not gonna be about the wedding- I announce that we are all glad and thankful that B got ridd of G. Yes, as much as i'm loving cat fights- this girl was just pure evil and we didn't want to see her hurting S more.

It turned out that she pretty much tried to ruin our pretty girl's life--but let me just tell you one thing little G- no one can uncrown that girl- especially not with that friends behind her.

Sadly lonely boy does not see his princess in the shiny light anymore, sources tell me that he broke up with her,at her mothers wedding. C-r-u-e-l...no one deserves that...especially not after she told him that she thought they where forever..hopefully lonely boy comes to his senses and realizes what he let go..."

Even gossip girl noticed that he has been a complete idiot.

He went over to his cupboard. Behind the "petting zoo" he finally found what he had been looking for: The book she had given to him shortly after they exchanged their i-love-you's. He opened it and smiled as he looked through the pages. She knew he wasn't a big fan of expensive gifts, so she had just put her heart into that book, telling the story of their relationship with snapshoots. There was the one Rufus took on Thanks giving and one from the coitillion. He slowly went through the pages ,starring at each picture a long time,wishing to be back at that time.

He didn't even noticed when his door opened and a girl came him**."Dan, what the hell are you still doing here? Remember? We had plans for lunch, like an hour ago, I'm literally starving,and its your fault" **That took him by surprise,he dropped the book onto the floor and looked up to meet his best friends glaze.

He grabbed the first jacket he got hold off and followed her out of the door, onto the streets. She linked arms with him, and he got the feeling that Vanessa was actually more than relieved that his upper-east side days with one special blonde were over. There was a time he would have been more than pleased to have Vanessa looking at him like that, but right now, it just felt wrong.

They went to the little cafe Vanessa used to work at before summer holidays and they sat down at their usual table, ordering the same food they always ate. Dan remembered how he came here with Serena several times. They had this thing going on, where one ordered for the other one the meal, just to make sure that you ate something different everytime. He loved to see the smile on her face when she picked something, by accident, he really wanted to eat that day and likewise he was happy when he chose something that she loved. It was one of the many proofs how much the two of them knew about each other.

"**Would you mind talking to me a little? Just that I don't feel like I'm talking to some stupid wall or something? Because if that has been my intention I would have stayed at home talking to my kitchenwall, since the two of us start to get along really well these days!"**She grinned at him.

He tried to focus on their conversation and found himself actually enjoying the conversation up to the point,when...


	2. and the way we used to be

After the wedding she had been a mess.. When Blair left to with Chuck or more with the guy she replaced Chuck with, she had a lot of time to think about the last days. Sure, there has been Nate who called in every day, to make sure she was alright,but she couldn't help herself to feel that one bit of her heart was missing.

It took her ages to get up in the morning and to dress, and to fake a smile to everyone asking her if she was ok. Of course she was not. How could she be?

But it was easier to tell the people what they wanted to hear instead of being pitied.

Sometimes, She even wished she had never met him, never fallen for him. Sometimes, she wanted to be the person she was before he came into the picture, because if it wasn't for him she could easily try to feel better with a drink. But right now, when she was not with him,she didn't want to drink, she liked the person he had turned her into. Everytime she was about to do something stupid or she didn't know what to do, his face popped up in her head and suddendly she knew how to act.

A buzzing sound caused her to wake up. She reached over to the small table at her bed, grabbing her cell phone and dropping several magazines that had been on it. She answered the phone, still sort of sleepy, to find herself in a conversation with Nate. He wanted to check in on her, to make sure that she was dressed this time, when he was coming around to pick her up. She slowly got out the bed and stumbled over the magazines she had just droped. She picked them up and two pictures fell out of the glamour magazine, she bought at the day after her mums wedding, to take her mind off. She didn't need to take a second look at the pictures to identify the persons on it. It had been pictures of the wedding, one taken when the photograph forced her to dance with Dan and the other one taken at the dress-rehearsal three weeks before the wedding. It showed her and Dan holding close to each other and smiling.

She quickly put them back into that magazin, even if it was nearly four weeks since they last saw each other, she wasn't really comfortable with looking at pictures of them together. It was already enough that everything she saw reminded her of him. Even looking at Chuck was a pain. Not for the usual reasons but because he reminded her of the love-hate relationship that was going on between him and Dan.

She took a shower, replaced her comfortable pyama trousers and the white t-shirt- which originally belonged to Dan(and which she still slept in as it gave her the impression to be still close to him..she knew that it was sick, but she needed it in order not to fall apart)- into a Jeans and a- Shirt, when the door opened and Nate entered the room with a smile on his face. The two of them once had a thing for each other and Serena knew that she could easily slip into a relationship with him-again- but she knew as well,that that wasn't the thing she was looking for. He wasn't the boy she was looking for. He gave her a hug and then took her hand to take out her for lunch. Nate wasn't exactly sure why he wanted to bring her to the old place Vanessa used to work at, but he kind of fell in love with the little cafe the first time he had been there. He usually dropped by after seeing his father in rehab and it had a calm atmosphere on him, helping him to sort things out and maybe he just wanted her to feel better, since the place had been so good for him.

The minute Nate opened the door he realized that it was the worst idea ever to bring her here. He knew that with one wrong move every attempt to fix her in the last weeks could be destroyed. He turned around to her, as they stepped through the door, trying to stop her from coming in. But she had already spotted...


	3. and all I do is keep the beat

Serena and Nate walking through the door holding hands. She had a smile on her face just like she always did when something made her happy. Dan couldn't know that the smile on her face was not caused by Nate, but rather by a little kid that she just came across at, who was walking around with her puppy. He could see Nate trying to stop her from getting into the Cafe, but she didn't see any point in not entering the cafe.

The minute she saw him and Vanessa, the smile on her face froze and she suddendly knew why Nate had tried to stop her. Turning around would have been the most reasonable thing to do at that moment, but she didn't want to seem vulnerable, especially not after seeing him sitting so close to Vanessa.

She got along well with Vanessa, she was nice and funny and all that stuff, but she never really got over the feeling that Vanessa might have some hidden feelings for Dan, just looking for the right moment to grab him and pull him away from her. She felt guilty about thinking that back then; but now it looked like she has been right all the time. She put on a fake smile ,which didn't reach her eyes, as she walked pass them, still holding tight to Nates Hand. She didn't stop at their table, just mumbled a quick "hello" and went on to another table with Nate. Nate asked her, if she really wanted to stay, but she replied that she was fine. It was nice to see Dan after all...

It was nice to see her even if she seemed to be together with Nate.. He looked up, meeting her eyes. They just stared at each other for a moment, as if all the other costumers had vanished and just the two of them were left, before they looked away from each other, embarressed, hurt.

She tried to focus on the conversation she had with Nate. He was talking about the planned trip to the Hamptons, but she knew that the only reason he was actually talking, was to distract her. She joined in the conversation, refusing to look at the other table where Vanessa was busy touching Dan every now and then- as if she tried to tell Serena to back off.

Dan, as well, tried to take an active part in the conversation with Vanessa. She was talking about a new film project, but he didn't really care. He wanted to know what Serena was talking about with Nate. How she was doing, if she missed him as badly as he missed her.

_Two hearts longing for each other but too afraid to admit it._

She excused herself from Nate. She didn't need to go to the bathroom, but she had to get out of the situation, being close to Dan, even though it seemed like miles separated them. In the bathroom, she took out her cell phone, trying to reach the one person that would understand her. Blair and her hadn't been on good terms when she came back from boarding school,but after forgiving each other and leaving the past behind, the two of them have been closer than ever.Eventhough Blair seemed to be superficial to people who didn't know her, Serena knew that she could always count on her best friend and that Blair wasn't actually as mean as everyone thought.

"I'm too busy with doing stuff, so unfortunately you just reached my mailbox. I might call you back if I like you, and in fact if, you are one of those persons that have a secret desire to meet me, as in stalking me, feel free to bugger off..." Since Blair and Chuck sorted things out reaching her was like trying to get the pope or the queen of England on the phone. I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E

She sighed and decided to get out of the bathroom and back to Nate, since she couldn't hide in here forever.

He had a strong desire to run out of the cafe. Run, run away from everthing. Vanessa, his feelings, Nate...He needed to get out of the crowded little cafe, he needed some time on his own. It felt like a heavy weight was on him, to prevent him from breathing. He stood up, telling Vanessa that he needed to go to the bathroom. He didn't notice that Serena wasn't at her table either.

She opened the door and went back to her table, her eyes focused on the floor, just to make sure to avoid seeing something she didn't want to see. She didn't see him coming, nor did he see her. She slipped over something and someone got hold off her- before she could fell down. She was just about to mumble an apology, when she looked up into familiar brown eyes. He still had one hand resting on her arm, too shocked to let it go. She couldn't say anything. He couldn't say anything, they just stood there looking at each other in silence. He could see the pain in her eyes and was sure that wasn't because of the stumbling accident.

She moved, slowly getting ridd of the hand on her shoulder. His touch was so familiar, felt so good but she couldn't stand it nevertheless. She made a move forward and said "Sorry".He wanted to apologize to her as well,for everything he said in the past. But before he found the strength to say those words, she had returned to the table.


	4. the bad company

_This time the headline doesn't really fit,as I decided to go into another direction while writing...its actually more fitting to the next chapter I plan to do..._

After their glorious meeting near the bathroom, Serena was in a rush to leave the Cafe. She couldn't stand a minute longer under this tension. She had seen something in his eyes. Something that made her believe that there was hope left.

_"Sometimes it hurts just knowing you're out there and that I can't touch you. You are there, living...breathing. Some place, far away from me. It hurts to breathe knowing I can't have you. I can't hold you... So I hold my breath. I pray for any sign, some sign-that I should hold on...is it worth letting go? Maybe I never had a chance...maybe we were destined to be this way. I smile faintly and watch the clock. Another minute has gone by without you, another part of me has died without you"_

There he was again, writing a story because he was overwhelmed by his feelings. He remembered the day he had given his story to Serena. Normally he wasn't really fond of the idea of people reading his stories. He remembered that he was eager to show her the original story, to show her how much she meant to him. He didn't know exactly why he broke up with her. He was sick of being lied to, he was hurt, confused and even angry with himself ,because of the mess with Georgina.

Georgina. He didn't even care about her that much. He never did. The only reason he hooked up with her was...was what? To get even with Serena? To feel better? To forget?

Forget...That was the reason...the whole time he was with Georgina he felt guilty, he loved Serena more than everything and yet he kissed another girl.

Now, after reflecting everything, everything suddendly made sense..The tiny little things he didn't pay much attention to back then...Serena meeting Georgina in the Cafe. Of course he had noticed that Serena didn't want to look into her eyes, that every move she made showed how uncomfortable she was with the situation. He didn't care much about that that night; as he was in the opinion that her behaviour was closely connected to her secret, the reason why she spend so much time with Blair, Chuck and Nate lately and refused to talk to him.

Now he felt guilty about blaming her...He wished he could take his words back...

But...maybe...he could? He had felt the tension between them,when they ran into each other.Maybe there was still hope for them? They could at least talk to each other, catching up, seeing if they could work out again...He just felt that Serena felt the same way about him...

He grabbed his jacket, to nervous to actually think properly- he went out of his room...he was about to leave the flat when Jenny called him back, laughing. He went back, annoyed that she slowed him down. She pointed out that, whatever he was about to do, he should think about putting a shirt and shoes on and maybe another pair of jeans and not his old track pants...

She couldn't concentrate after meeting him. When she came home, she tried to keep herself busy with reading a book, but that didn't work out. She cleaned up, checked her emails, and even started to write a paper for english, but nothing calmed her down. At eight o' clock she finally decided that she couldn't get back to her normal life when she let things in a blur with Dan, She needed to talk to him, sort things out, even if they decided to remain separated. She was just about to go when her phone rang.

**"Did you miss me?"-"Blair!"** she smiled. **"After you left about one million messages for me, I thought it was about time to call you back, I'm sorry though that I haven't been in touch lately, but I thought that you were doing better. But after hearing your monologues on my phone I figured I was wrong about that!"**

Serena was glad to hear her voice and even more delighted to hear that Blair was planning on coming over, so that the two of them could go to the Hamptons one week earlier-without Nate and Chuck to spend some "Best friends"-time together. Blair suprised her even more, when she announced that earlier would mean now, more precisely today and that Serena should pack immediately.


	5. There was little we could say

All he wanted was to get out of the appartment and taking a cab to the Palace. But, as always, everything didn't go the way he planned it. Just when he was about to put a shirt on, he heard a familiar voice coming from the right side of his room. Vanessa..

He was not sure whether he forgot a date with her or if there wasn't an actual reason for her showing up.All he knew was that he had to see Serena, but unfortunately Vanessa had other plans. Before he could even make the attempt to tell her that he had to go, she handed a letter to him. He knew she wouldn't let him go if he didn't read the letter.

**"Dear Mr. Humphrey. Thank you for applying for an internship..."** _Hold on, an internship? Did he miss something important? When did he apply for an internship? Vanessa didn't...did she?_

She grinned and gave him a hug**..."Congrats, seems that you are busy this summer after all..."**

He was speechless...

Serena had already packed. It wasn't much of a big deal to decide what to wear when you look good in everything. She had plenty of time left before Blair would show up and so she decided to spend some time with her brother. She went into his room, but apparently, he wasn't at home. She was about to leave the room ,when he heard his phone ring. She answered it, and was suprised to hear Jennys voice on the other end.

She always got along well with Jenny. One thing that made her relationship with Dan so special was, that she loved his family as well and didn't mind hanging around with them when Dan wasn't at home. She heard voices in the background and before she could tell Jenny that it was actually her- not Eric, who answered the phone, Jenny was already talking without stoping to breathe. She asked Eric to come around, as they were celebrating something concerning Internships both her and Dan got. Jenny finally came to end, Serena got a chance to talk, she explained her being on Erics phone and asked her to tell Dan that she was happy, that he got an internship. She knew how much something like that meant to him. He loved to write and was shy about admitting how good he actually was. Jenny convinced Serena to tell Dan that by herself and she agreed to that, her heart beating faster.

When Jenny entered the kitchen Serena heard Dan talking to someone. She figured that Dan was more than happy about the great news, as she heard him laughing. She loved to look at Dan when he was talking. He got this cute laugh lines next to his mouth then and the sound of the laughter encouraged her everytime to join in.

And then she heard something which changed everything. Jenny was about to hand Dan the phone when Serena heard him saying "**I love you "** to someone. Her smile froze ,when she heard Vanessa replying that she loved him,too. Of course Serena couldn't know that that "I love you" wasn't romantic in any way. It was an "I love you" that you share with your closest friends, a "Platonic declaration of love". A "Thank you" No more.

She couldn't stand it. She cut down the line, throwing the cell far away from her. She ran into her room, grabbing her suitcase. She had to get out of here as soon as possible. She managed to call for a cab and leaving a message for ,Blair telling that she would wait for her at the airport. She switched out her phone, tears running down her cheek. Of course she had expected something like that to happen- sooner or later. But witnessing it ,had torn her into pieces. She felt her heart literally breaking and she wasn't able to focus on anything.

Dan took the phone out of Jennys hand. She had an alarming expression on her face- since she knew that Serena must have witnessed the whole I love you part. When he put the phone to his ear he could hear that, whoever had been on the phone, had hung up. He looked at his sister suspiciously and had a rugh, frightning idea who the other person on the line had been.


	6. And even less that we could do

**Thank you guys for your reviews...they mean a lot to me:-) Anyways just a quick up-date as I'm quite busy at the moment with studying;-) Hope you all like it, as I said its gonna be a hard and tough way for them to get back together-but let me tell you they'll be together in the end, no matter what;-)**

He slowly put down the phone, shaking for some unknown reasons, afraid to hear the answer to the question he didn't want to ask, the answer that would make it real. He didn't need to take a second look at Jennys face to know that his assumption was right...He screwed things up, a lot. Without excusing himself from both Vanessa and Jenny, he ran into his room, grabbing his cell and his jacket. His hand was shaking so hard that it took him ages to dial the number. He heard the phone rang, two times, three times, four times- before it got to the voice mail. She didn't pick up the phone. He ran out of the appartement onto the streets, waving for a cab. He needed to go to the Palace, no matter what. When finally a yellow car stopped next to him, he jumped into it, encouraging the driver to drive as fast as possible. He 'didn't want to loose any time, even though he didn't know exactly what to tell her, but he figured talking to her, explaining that the "i love you" didn't mean anything, was better than doing nothing. When he finally arrived he just saw some blonde hair vanishing in a taxi.He called out her name...

She wanted to get away, leave all the mess behind her. She grabbed her suitcases and went to the taxi that was already waiting for her in front of the Palace. As she was about to get into the car she heard somebody calling her name. More of an habbit, than actual desire to see who had called her, she turned around to see Dan, getting of a car on the opposite site of the streets. Some part of her wanted to stay, to hear his apology, but something inside her forced her to turn around, away from him. She sat down in the taxi, telling the driver that she needed to get to the airport.

His heart was beating fast as she turned around. He could see that she had been crying. It was painful to see her that way, but even when she looked messed up like this; she was still the most beautiful person he had ever come across in his life. He begged for her to stay, the second she spotted him, one glittering tear felt down her cheeks. Before he could say more she turned around, again, stepping into the taxi,away from him.

He didn't know how he actually got home that day. He wandered through the streets, restless, not able to have on straight thought. He didn't ty to follow her, as her taxi had vanished before he could move again. When he finally came home, he went straight into his room, not noticing that his dad, Jenny and Vanessa were sitting on the couch, waiting for him.

He locked his door and threw himself on his bed, covering his face with his pillow. And then the tears came. He didn't mean to cry, he was even embarrassed, but yet he could feel that the tears helped him to feel better. After a long time he got up, and searched his room for some paper and a biro. He sat down and wrote down everything he wanted to tell her, he didn't structure his letter, he just wrote down what came into his mind. He didn't know if this lines could change anything, but there was not point in not trying.


	7. to stop the ice from getting thinner

He ran his fingers over the sleeve of the book. He'd always liked the smell of an old book store. It has been two weeks now since he started his internship, it was quite an opportunity for him as a writer: he got to know what way a story has to take before being published and even better was that he actually got the chance to write something himself, as his boss, some guy who liked to call himself Gerald, promised him to publish his work, if it was good enough. Today he was at some sort of author tour which his company managed. He liked the setting of it, in a nice cute old book store, not in one of that big book stores that are all around New York. He was so absorbed in one book, that he kind of lost contact to the world around him.

He didn't notice the crowd entering the bookstore- eager to meet the number one selling list author. A woman passed him, something about her caused him to look up. He could smell the familiar scent of a perfume that he used to love a lot on some particular person. She turned around and smiled at him.

She didn't know what to do with herself. Since they arrived at the Hamptons everything had been a blur for her. She got used to the daily routine of getting up and going to the beach with Blair or having lunch with the boys, coming home, watching some sort of old movie with Blair, playing cards with Chuck or going for a walk with Nate. She was keeping herself busy in order to avoid any thought about Dan. Whenever someone mentioned his name she faked a smile, pretending to feel good,even though something inside her wanted to scream.

She tried to fool herself, she tried to tell herself that I didn't matter, that she was already over him. Blair dragged her to parties where all those boys tried to get her attention. She found herself in several casual conversations, not really listening to all that superficial stuff the people had to say. She wasn't really a part of her own world anymore, things she had once enjoyed had lost the glitter for her. All those people around her had fun, sure she had tons of friends, admirers but-..**they were all not Dan.**

She took her drink and went out of the door. She sat down at one bench, which was standing in front of the house the latest party took place in. She was deep in thoughts, when she felt that she was not alone. She looked up to see some guy walking over to her, sitting down next to her. The old her would have found him cute: he had blonde her, had cute little dimples on his face and bright blue eyes.

She was looking for some book and asked for his help. They got into a conversation and suddendly he heard himself agreeing to meeting her later that evening. After work he changed into more casual clothes and called for a cab to get to the place they agreed to meet. He didn't feel nervous like he did when he went out for the first time with Serena. This date felt more like some business appointment rather than a drink to get to know each other better. He listened to her, but was not really paying attention to what she was actually saying. She met up with him in a posh restaurant, somewhere Serena would have never suggested to go to.

It annoyed her first that someone interrupted her thoughts. She wanted to be alone, she didn't need any company but there he sat,next to her, not saying a word. He was just looking at the sea, silent. There was something about him that caught her interest. He looked hurt, broken. While looking at him she found deep shadows under his eyes, not the ones you get after being out one night after the other but those you get when something prevents you from sleeping. Something like a broken heart. She was familiar with those. He must have recognized her starring as he slowly turned around to her. When her gaze meet his he slightly smiled.

Later that evening:

He didn't know why he kissed her, he didn't want to kiss her but somehow he wasn't exactly in control of his body. She leaned for to him, slowly placing her hand on his neck, he closed his eyes and then he felt her lips slowly approaching his. He smelled the familiar scent of the perfume, for one second he convinced himself that it was not some random woman he kissed, that he would see that long blonde hair, her big blue eyes when he opened his again. But that wasn't reality, her lips were moving wrong, she didn't taste right and when he opened his eyes he meet green ones instead of the blue he hoped, desperatley wanted, to see. He pushed her away from him. This wasn't right, he couldn't kiss someone else than her, maybe he would never kiss someone else again. **Serena, Serena...not when she existed...**

It was the first real conversation she have had in weeks. She had finally met someone who understood her. Someone who knew how it felt when you haven't got the strength to get up in the morning, when you have got the strength to smile or to be happy.He had just lost the love of his life, not to someone else but to something more permanent. Something where you can not return from, where you didn't get the chance to talk about anything, to talk at all, to start over.

His loss made her aware that there is no point in waiting when you are in love. And she clearly was in love, despite everything she and Dan had gone through. Something inside her told her that she needed to talk to him, to clear things up...Even if there was no hope for them...

**Don't worry this stroy will only be around dan and serena getting back together...there's no way I'm going to match them up with other persons...those "dates"are just important to keep the story going...There's still the little question about what happens when Serena finds Dans letter...**


	8. Change came in disguise of revelation

When she came home it was way past midnight. They had been talking for hours. He was the only one she had opened up to in weeks. Josh's story had made her realize how bad it is to lose someone you love. His story had touched her and when she finally went to bed millions of thoughts were buzzing around in her head. Maybe she should talk to Dan. Even if he was with Vanessa.

The next morning she got up early, rushed down to breakfast and this time she didn't need to fake a smile to her friends. Blair wondered where Serena had been the night before but there was not time to explain anything. She needed to catch a train back home.

He was sitting at home. Couldn't focus on anything. How can you write a story when everything that's on your mind is just one person? He has heard about writers having muses but he didn't want millions of people to read how he had made a fool of himself by breaking up with the most beautiful girl on earth. So instead he was just sitting in front of his laptop. He was starring at the screen when suddenly his phone rang. More of a habit than an actual desire to read the newest text he grabbed his phone. The newest gossip girl blast. Right. Who else could it be? The only one really texting him these days was Vanessa and even she seemed kind of annoyed by the way he was behaving.

He was about to throw his phone away when the headline grabbed his attention. There she was. Serena. How could he not read the text now? The post was nothing special and yet it made him wonder. Serena was apparently on her way home. Someone had seen her getting off at train central. Why? The holidays were far from over and there was no news about the others of the gang returning with her. So why was she home? What was she doing here?

Initially her plan had been to go to Dan as soon as she got off the train. But during the journey she had enough time to think. Maybe it wasn't the greatest idea to appear on his doorstep. What was she supposed to say anyway? And what if Vanessa was with him? She knew that this was a possibility and she also knew that she couldn't stand seeing them together. Therefore she decided to go home first. To make up her mind. Of course nobody was home when she arrived. Her mum was god knows where and Eric was still at the Hamptons. She threw her luggage on the floor, flicked through the letters that were waiting for them on the living room table. Nothing special. A postcard from her mum, bills, invitations, another postcard from her mum (how long has she been away? A month?)reminding her to go to some stupid charity gala. A brown letter caught her attention. She knew the handwriting but was not really sure who it belonged to. The minute she began to open the letter the doorbell rang. She left the letter on the table to answer the door.

He was nervous. The gossip girl blast came 30 minutes ago, that meant if she went straight home after getting off the train she must be at the palace every second. And then she will find his letter. How will she react? Will she react?

Serena returned to the table with a cup of hot tea. She picked up the brown letter she was about to read before the room service came. She opened it –to find a thank you note written by Eleanor in it.

There were still some letters left to open but she wanted to relax. To think about the reason she came home in the first place. Lost in her own thoughts she got up- unaware that her cup of tea was right in front of her. She knocked the cup over, spilling it on all the unopened letters.

He was too nervous to wait. He knew that it was a bad idea to go to her house. But he couldn't stay home. It was driving him mad.


End file.
